John Scofield Joe Lovano Quartet

North America

It’s often said that history repeats itself but in the instance of making music, a reunion of two performers will not necessarily bring about the sounds of their collective past. Grammy-winning saxophonist/composer Joe Lovano and the equally lauded guitarist/composer John Scofield are preparing another turn together in the public eye. One of the most popular groups of the early 1990’s, the satisfying musical coalition of Joe Lovano and John Scofield kept their mutual fans waiting almost 20 years for their reunion until 2008 when the two masters reconvened for a critical and commercially acclaimed tour of Asia and Australia. Every audience on their 2008 tour enjoyed the next level in their partnership – the sum of their collective years of experience, creativity and technique presented with intensity, skill and fun. For 2015/16 Scofield and Lovano will showcase a dynamic new ensemble for their North American fans with Ben Street on bass and Bill Stewart on drums.

John Scofield is considered one of the most important guitarists and composers in jazz. His influence began in the late 70’s and is going strong today. Possessor of a distinctive sound and stylistic diversity, Scofield is a masterful improviser whose music generally falls somewhere between post-bop, funk edged jazz, and R & B. He has prominently led his own groups in the international jazz and contemporary scenes, recorded over 40 albums as a leader (many already classics) and collaborated with current favorites and jazz legends like Miles Davis, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Bill Frisell, Brad Mehldau, Mavis Staples, Government Mule, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Joe Henderson, Dave Holland and Phil Lesh to name only a few. Throughout his career Scofield has punctuated his traditional jazz offerings with funk-oriented electric music. All along, the guitarist has kept an open musical mind and a variety of audiences in the jazz, rock and classical realms.

Known for both small and large group ensembles, Joe Lovano stands out as one of the most successful saxophonists in Jazz today. He has distinguished himself for some three decades as a prescient and pathfinding force in the arena of creative music. He has earned praise, not just for his compelling saxophone tone and improvisational ability but also for his forward- thinking presentation of new musical ideas and ensemble concepts. From his work with Gunther Schuller, Streams of Expression, to his work as Gary Burton Chair of Jazz Performance at Berklee College of Music, the Cleveland native continually challenges and pushes conceptual and thematic choices in his quest for new modes of artistic expression and new definitions of the jazz idiom. He has released 23 celebrated albums on the Blue Note label, including 2008’s Grammy-nominated Symphonica, and the last three focusing on his quintet Us Five.

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From Ottawa Citizen
By Chris Maskell
Amiable, animated music from the John Scofield / Joe Lovano Quartet
Continuing a collaboration that reaches as far back as their 1990 album Time On My Hands, guitarist John Scofield and saxophonist Joe Lovano returned to Ottawa on Saturday night for a blockbuster show.
Joined by the celebrated drum-bass pairing of Ben Street and...

From Broadway World
The John Scofield & Joe Lovano Quartet Burn at Blue Note
By: Matt Hanson
Jazz education is America’s oral history, and the composers of jazz, contemporary and classic, are as the wise, sagely men and women who have carried the sacred knowledge of the people since time immemorial.
From the bayou of New Orleans to the streets...

From JazzTimes
The Gig: John Scofield and Joe Lovano: An egoless plane
By: Nate Chinen
Every jazz fan has a personal catalog of Near-Miss bands—working units that you should have seen in action but, for one reason or another, you didn’t. I’m not talking about Duke Ellington’s Blanton-Webster band, or the Quintette du Hot Club de France; this isn’t a...

From The New York Times
Jazz Listings for Oct. 9-15
By: Nate Chinen
John Scofield-Joe Lovano Quartet (Tuesday through Oct. 18) “Past Present,” the excellent new album by the guitarist John Scofield, documents a welcome reunion of his quartet of the early-to-mid 1990s: an elastic, swinging group featuring Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone and Bill Stewart on drums. Larry Grenadier...

From The Boston Globe
Celebrating jazzy reunion of Joe Lovano, John Scofield
By: Bill Beuttler
CAMBRIDGE — They were called “the John Scofield Joe Lovano Quartet” on the Regattabar’s website and announced at the sold-out first set Friday as “John Scofield and the Joe Lovano Quartet.” But the first of four weekend performances was mostly about celebrating the reunion of...

From Montreal Gazette
By Peter Hakekel
Jazz fest: John Scofield and Joe Lovano have a special connection
The generation of jazz musicians that came along in the 1970s was particularly rich in guitarists. Think of Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Bill Frisell and John Scofield – all players with a unique sound and approach to improvisation.
Scofield, who performs at the...